Charis Mavrias' move to Fortuna Düsseldorf looks to be in doubt

Sunderland will probably have more outgoing players this window than they will incoming as Sam Allardyce look to free up space on the wage bill.

Mavrias is congratulated by his teammates for his goal. | Image credit: Ian Hodgson

Charis Mavrias has played no more than one game for Sunderland, scoring just one goal.

Anonymous time at Sunderland

His sole appearance for the club came in a 1-0 win against Kidderminster in the third round of the FA Cup. The only time Mavrias has ever made a first time appearance, in a cup competition against a non-league side; it’s fair to say that he has never really been given a chance.

Like many of Paolo Di Canio’s foreign counterparts, the Greek winger never really hit the ground running at the Stadium of Light and if the price is right, Sam Allardyce is willing to let the winger go.

The 22-year-old arrived in 2013 for £2.5million, and has a year left on his contract, hence the club are looking to recoup some of their losses. A bid from Fortuna Düsseldorf was rejected by the club as they seek a higher fee.

Time in Germany

After a loan spell to his previous club Panathinaikos, Mavrias moved to 2. Bundesliga side Fortuna, making 15 appearances and scoring once.

Sources suggest that if he impressed and both parties wished to make his move permanent, then there was a release clause worth around £400,000 in his loan spell.

However, the deadline for that fee elapsed and Fortuna have since had a lower figure rejected by Sunderland.

The move now looks to be in doubt as head coach Friedhelm Funkel admits he is assessing his options: “Sunderland have rejected our offer, which was probably too low."

“We have to think about it and I do not know how we will proceed," he continued. "It is quite clear that there are economic limits and we are always looking for alternatives. Whether it works with Mavrias or not, I don’t know.”

Mavrias, due to his long name (Charis Mavrias is the shortened version) is nicknamed Harry Black and Funkel described him as “a really good player” who is “very fast” and as someone who “can play attractive football”.

He is not the only player who Sunderland are looking to offload this summer with Jordi Gomez, Liam Brdicutt, Valetine Roberge, Will Buckley and Emanule Giaccherini all thought to be leaving.